For questions about the King County Puget Sound Marine Monitoring Program, please contact Kim Stark, Program Manager.

Routine Subtidal Sediment Monitoring Program

The primary goal of King County’s
marine ambient sediment monitoring program is to collect data of known quality in
order to effectively characterize marine sediments within the County’s borders.
King County has collected sediment quality data from subtidal, ambient monitoring
stations for many years. These subtidal monitoring stations have been located within
Elliott Bay and in the Central Basin of Puget Sound, proximal to the City of Seattle.
Sampling locations have traditionally been located to monitor sediment quality in
areas within the general vicinity but away from the direct impact of potential point-source
pollution such as wastewater and storm water outfalls and general non-point sources
such as the Duwamish River. King County’s previous ambient subtidal sediment monitoring
program evaluated sediment quality at four stations in Elliott Bay, two stations
in the Puget Sound Central Basin, and one station in Shilshole Bay. Samples were
collected from these stations biennially between 1996 and 2004 and annually at several
of the stations, as well as others, prior to 1996.

The former subtidal sediment monitoring program was temporarily discontinued after
2004 to allow King County staff scientists to evaluate data generated from the program
as well as other data collection efforts within the region. Following this review
period, King County expanded its marine ambient subtidal sediment monitoring program
to focus on sediment quality in Elliott Bay, while still monitoring truly ambient
sediment quality in the Central Basin of Puget Sound as well as three smaller embayments
of interest.

The Elliott Bay sediment monitoring program includes eight stations with sampling
occurring every two years. The other six stations are sampled every five years.
The 14 stations
were sampled initially in 2007.

The six stations located in the Central Basin and associated smaller embayments
are sampled every five years. The frequency of sampling for these six stations should
be sufficient to monitor long-term trends in sediment quality. The three stations
in the Central Basin, which represent ambient sediment conditions in the deep, depositional
areas of Puget Sound, include:

Station KSBP01 – located off of Point Jefferson. This station will represent conditions
in the northern portion of the Central Basin and is one of King County’s long-term
water column monitoring stations.

Station LSML01 – located off of West Seattle. This station will represent conditions
in the center portion of the Central Basin and is one of King County’s long-term
sediment monitoring stations.

Station NSEX01 – located in East Passage. This station will represent conditions
in the southern portion of the Central Basin and is another of King County’s long-term
water column monitoring stations.

The three stations located in the small embayments, which represent specific areas of
interest due to potential anthropogenic impacts, include:

Station KSRU03 – located in outer Salmon Bay, just downstream from the Hiram
Chittenden locks. This area receives a high level of small and large vessel
traffic entering and exiting the locks.

Station LSVV01 – located in Fauntleroy Cove. This area has a history of water
quality issues, receives a large amount of freshwater input, and is impacted
by ferry traffic at the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

Station MSVK01 – located in inner Quartermaster Harbor. This area is of importance
as habitat for both shellfish and Pacific herring. This shallow, quiescent embayment
receives a moderate amount of seasonal small vessel traffic.

The eight stations located in Elliott Bay are sampled every
two years. This more-frequent sampling will allow King County and other decision-makers
to better evaluate temporal changes in sediment quality and help assess the potential
positive impacts to the marine environment from various sediment cleanup projects
and other riparian improvements in Elliott Bay. Four of the Elliott Bay stations
have long-term sediment quality data sets that will continue with King County’s
new sediment sampling program. These stations are:

LSCW02 – located at the hypothetical boundary-line between Elliott Bay and the Central
Basin of Puget Sound;

LTCA02 – located in the center of Elliott Bay;

LTED04 – located in the center of Elliott Bay, inshore of LTCA02; and

LTDF01 – located along the central Seattle waterfront, near Pier 66.

These four stations form a rough east-west transect away from locations of potential
point-source impacts to the sediment. Four new Elliott Bay stations were added to
the monitoring program in 2007 to assess specific areas of the bay. These stations
are:

KSZY01 – located just offshore of Piers 90/91. This area has historically received
high heavy-vessel traffic and will continue to receive large ships when cruise liners
begin using these docking facilities.

LTAA02 – located just offshore of the grain terminal. This area has also historically
received high heavy-vessel traffic and docking.

LTGF01 – located just offshore of the northern end of Harbor Island. This location
is in an area of heavy industry, including fuel storage and transfer, shipbuilding
and repair, and the transportation industry.

LSHZ08 – located just offshore of Cove 2 at Seacrest Park. This area has high usage
by recreational SCUBA divers, including diving classes, which includes a high incidence
of primary contact with bottom sediments, especially by student divers.